«I don’t trust people; sometimes I don’t even trust myself. Where there are people, there is temptation,» says Sienkevych, adding that corruption must be tackled through digitalisation

Oleksandr Sienkevych at an EUACI event in June 2026. Photo: Viktoria Goncharova

Oleksandr Sienkevych, the mayor of Mykolaiv, believes that relying on the honesty of officials is not enough to prevent corruption. According to him, anyone can succumb to temptation, so a system needs to be put in place within government bodies to minimise opportunities for abuse. Explaining this view, the mayor stated that sometimes he does not even trust himself.

Oleksandr Sienkevych made these remarks on 29 September during the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) forum in Kyiv, where the fight against corruption and improving the transparency of government bodies were discussed, NikVesti reports.

Speaking on the fight against corruption, Oleksandr Sienkevych emphasised the need to reduce opportunities for abuse. In his view, if a person is given the opportunity to give in to temptation, they may take advantage of it. It was in this context that the mayor stated that he does not even trust himself.

«I don’t trust people. Sometimes I don’t even trust myself. I say this all the time: where there are people, there is temptation; where there is temptation, there is sin. If a person is given the opportunity to be tempted, they will sin,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

To explain his point, the mayor cited the example of the Christian prayer «The Lord’s Prayer», in which people ask God not to lead them into temptation.

«When we pray to God, when we pray, we ask the Lord not to lead us into temptation, because we may be tempted. Therefore, our task — yours and mine — is to minimise these risks of temptation,» he noted.

Oleksandr Sienkevych cited digitalisation as one way of reducing such risks. In his view, the more information about the authorities’ decisions is available to the public, the more difficult it is to conceal potential abuses.

Advertising

The mayor also emphasised the importance of transparency regarding the authorities’ work.

«Cockroaches don’t like light, so we simply need to shine as much light as possible on matters and make as much data as possible available,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

As an example, Oleksandr Sienkevych cited Mykolaiv’s land register, which had been open to the public prior to the full-scale invasion. Residents could view plots of land on a map and find the relevant city council decisions.

According to the mayor, public access to this register is currently restricted at the request of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for security reasons, although the system itself continues to operate.

It should be noted that during the same forum, Oleksandr Sienkevych spoke about other measures to reduce corruption risks in Mykolaiv, including changes to the procurement system, reform of the city’s administrative structure and the establishment of supervisory boards at municipal enterprises.